Russian Federation

Hydrogen accumulation and distribution in pipeline steel under conditions of enhanced corrosion has been studied. The XRD analysis optical spectrometry and uniaxial tension tests reveal that the corrosion environment affects the parameters of the inner and outer surface of the steel pipeline as well as the steel pipeline bulk. The steel surface becomes saturated with hydrogen released as a reaction product during insignificant methane dissociation. Measurements of the adsorbed hydrogen concentration throughout the steel pipe bulk were carried out. The pendulum impact testing of Charpy specimens was performed at room temperature in compliance with national standards. The mechanical properties of the steel specimens were found to be considerably lower and analogous to the properties values caused by hydrogen embrittlement.

The rapid development of science technology and engineering in the 21st century has offered a remarkable rise in our living standards. However at the same time serious environmental issues have emerged such as acid rain and the greenhouse effect which are associated with the ever-increasing need for energy consumption 85% of which comes from fossil fuels combustion. From this combustion process except for energy the main greenhouse gases-carbon dioxide and steam-are produced. Moreover during industrial processes many hazardous gases are emitted. For this reason gas-detecting devices such as electrochemical gas sensors able to analyze the composition of a target atmosphere in real time are important for further improving our living quality. Such devices can help address environmental issues and inform us about the presence of dangerous gases. Furthermore as non-renewable energy sources run out there is a need for energy saving. By analyzing the composition of combustion emissions of automobiles or industries combustion processes can be optimized. This review deals with electrochemical gas sensors based on solid oxide electrolytes which are employed for the detection of hazardous gasses at high temperatures and aggressive environments. The fundamentals the principle of operation and the configuration of potentiometric amperometric combined (amperometric-potentiometric) and mixed-potential gas sensors are presented. Moreover the results of previous studies on carbon oxides (COx) nitrogen oxides (NOx) hydrogen (H2 ) oxygen (O2 ) ammonia (NH3 ) and humidity (steam) electrochemical sensors are reported and discussed. Emphasis is given to sensors based on oxygen ion and proton-conducting electrolytes.

Autothermal reforming of bioethanol (ATR of C2H5OH) over promoted Ni/Ce0.8La0.2O1.9 catalysts was studied to develop carbon-neutral technologies for hydrogen production. The regulation of the functional properties of the catalysts was attained by adjusting their nanostructure and reducibility by introducing various types and content of M promoters (M = Pt Pd Rh Re; molar ratio M/Ni = 0.003–0.012). The composition–characteristics–activity correlation was determined using catalyst testing in ATR of C2H5OH thermal analysis N2 adsorption X-ray diffraction transmission electron microscopy and EDX analysis. It was shown that the type and content of the promoter as well as the preparation mode (combined or sequential impregnation methods) determine the redox properties of catalysts and influence the textural and structural characteristics of the samples. The reducibility of catalysts improves in the following sequence of promoters: Re < Rh < Pd < Pt with an increase in their content and when using the co-impregnation method. It was found that in ATR of C2H5OH over bimetallic Ni-M/Ce0.8La0.2O1.9 catalysts at 600 ◦C the hydrogen yield increased in the following row of promoters: Pt < Rh < Pd < Re at 100% conversion of ethanol. The introduction of M leads to the formation of a NiM alloy under reaction conditions and affects the resistance of the catalyst to oxidation sintering and coking. It was found that for enhancing Ni catalyst performance in H2 production through ATR of C2H5OH the most effective promotion is with Re: at 600 ◦C over the optimum 10Ni-0.4Re/Ce0.8La0.2O1.9 catalyst the highest hydrogen yield 65% was observed.

Hydrogen can be generated in situ within reservoirs containing hydrocarbons through chemical reactions. This technology could be a possible solution for low-emission hydrogen production due to of simultaneous CO2 storage. In gas fields it is possible to carry out the catalytic methane conversion (CMC) if sufficient amounts of steam catalyst and heat are ensured in the reservoir. There is no confirmation of the CMC’s feasibility at relatively low temperatures in the presence of core (reservoir rock) material. This study introduces the experimental results of the first part of the research on in situ hydrogen generation in the Promyslovskoye gas field. A set of static experiments in the autoclave reactor were performed to study the possibility of hydrogen generation under reservoir conditions. It was shown that CMC can be realized in the presence of core and ex situ prepared Ni-based catalyst under high pressure up to 207 atm but at temperatures not lower than 450 ◦C. It can be concluded that the crushed core model improves the catalytic effect but releases carbon dioxide and light hydrocarbons which interfere with the hydrogen generation. The maximum methane conversion rate to hydrogen achieved at 450 ◦C is 5.8%

The results of studies of the influence of hydrogen and hydrogen-containing gas additives on the parameters of various types of internal combustion engines are analyzed and summarized. It made possible to identify the features of the effect on the combustion of fuel during internal combustion engine operation at partial loads. The dependences of reducing the toxicity and fuel consumption of internal combustion engine on the amount of addition of hydrogen and a hydrogen-containing gas to the air-fuel mixture were obtained. It allowed to establish quantitative effects of free hydrogen in particular to quantify the region of small hydrogen additives and the conditions under which hydrogen exhibits the qualities of a chemically active component of the mixture.

Within the framework of this paper we review the development of the problem of hydrogen diagnostic for metals. Metal sample enrichment techniques based on hydrogen vacuum extraction method used for a long time. Development of the industrial control technologies has led to the almost complete replacement of vacuum techniques with “atmospheric” ones. As a result systematic errors have occurred. These errors lead to multiple differences between certified and measured hydrogen concentration values for standard samples.<br/>In this paper we analyze reasons of systematic errors genesis observed for hydrogen measurements while applying the thermal conductivity cell technique. As a result we demonstrated that measurements resulting from samples heating and melting in the inert gas flow depend on its heat capacity and surface temperature of the melting pot. Due to this reason one can obtain multiple errors and even negative values for measurements of a low hydrogen concentration."

Renewable energy is considered the one of the most promising solutions to meet sustainable development goals in terms of climate change mitigation. Today we face the problem of further scaling up renewable energy infrastructure which requires the creation of reliable energy storages environmentally friendly carriers like hydrogen and competitive international markets. These issues provoke the involvement of resource-based countries in the energy transition which is questionable in terms of economic efficiency compared to conventional hydrocarbon resources. To shed a light on the possible efficiency of green hydrogen production in such countries this study is aimed at: (1) comparing key Russian trends of green hydrogen development with global trends (2) presenting strategic scenarios for the Russian energy sector development (3) presenting a case study of Russian hydrogen energy project «Dyakov Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP» in Magadan region. We argue that without significant changes in strategic planning and without focus on sustainable solutions support the further development of Russian power industry will be halted in a conservative scenario with the limited presence of innovative solutions in renewable energy industries. Our case study showed that despite the closeness to Japan hydrogen market economic efficiency is on the edge of zero with payback period around 17 years. The decrease in project capacity below 543.6 MW will immediately lead to a negative NPV. The key reason for that is the low average market price of hydrogen ($14/kg) which is only a bit higher than its production cost ($12.5/kg) while transportation requires about $0.96/kg more. Despite the discouraging results it should be taken into account that such strategic projects are at the edge of energy development. We see them as an opportunity to lead transnational energy trade of green hydrogen which could be competitive in the medium term especially with state support.

The 21st century is characterized not only by large-scale transformations but also by the speed with which they occur. Transformations—political economic social technological environmental and legal-in synergy have always been a catalyst for reactions in society. The field of energy supply like many others is extremely susceptible to the external influence of such factors. To a large extent this applies to remote (especially from the position of energy supply) regions. The authors outline an approach to justifying the development of the Arctic energy infrastructure through an analysis of the demand for the amount of energy consumed and energy sources taking into account global trends. The methodology is based on scenario modeling of technological demand. It is based on a study of the specific needs of consumers available technologies and identified risks. The paper proposes development scenarios and presents a model that takes them into account. Modeling results show that in all scenarios up to 50% of the energy balance in 2035 will take gas but the role of carbon-free energy sources will increase. The mathematical model allowed forecasting the demand for energy types by certain types of consumers which makes it possible to determine the vector of development and stimulation of certain types of resources for energy production in the Arctic. The model enables considering not only the growth but also the decline in demand for certain types of consumers under different scenarios. In addition authors’ forecasts through further modernization of the energy sector in the Arctic region can contribute to the creation of prerequisites that will be stimulating and profitable for the growth of investment in sustainable energy sources to supply consumers. The scientific significance of the work lies in the application of a consistent hybrid modeling approach to forecasting demand for energy resources in the Arctic region. The results of the study are useful in drafting a scenario of regional development taking into account the Sustainable Development Goals as well as identifying areas of technology and energy infrastructure stimulation.

The environmental impact of CO2 emissions is widely acknowledged making the development of alternative propulsion systems a priority. Hydrogen is a potential candidate to replace fossil fuels for transport applications with three technologies considered for the onboard storage of hydrogen: storage in the form of a compressed gas storage as a cryogenic liquid and storage as a solid. These technologies are now competing to meet the requirements of vehicle manufacturers; each has its own unique challenges that must be understood to direct future research and development efforts. This paper reviews technological developments for Hydrogen Storage Vessel (HSV) designs including their technical performance manufacturing costs safety and environmental impact. More specifically an up-to-date review of fiber-reinforced polymer composite HSVs was explored including the end-of-life recycling options. A review of current numerical models for HSVs was conducted including the use of artificial intelligence techniques to assess the performance of composite HSVs leading to more sophisticated designs for achieving a more sustainable future.

The consumption of hydrogen could increase by sixfold in 2050 compared to 2020 levels reaching about 530 Mt. Against this backdrop the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been a major research area in the field of energy engineering. Several reviews have been provided in the existing corpus of literature on PEMFC but questions related to their evolutionary nuances and research hotspots remain largely unanswered. To fill this gap the current review uses bibliometric analysis to analyze PEMFC articles indexed in the Scopus database that were published between 2000–2021. It has been revealed that the research field is growing at an annual average growth rate of 19.35% with publications from 2016 to 2012 alone making up 46% of the total articles available since 2000. As the two most energy-consuming economies in the world the contributions made towards the progress of PEMFC research have largely been from China and the US. From the research trend found in this investigation it is clear that the focus of the researchers in the field has largely been to improve the performance and efficiency of PEMFC and its components which is evident from dominating keywords or phrases such as ‘oxygen reduction reaction’ ‘electrocatalysis’ ‘proton exchange membrane’ ‘gas diffusion layer’ ‘water management’ ‘polybenzimidazole’ ‘durability’ and ‘bipolar plate’. We anticipate that the provision of the research themes that have emerged in the PEMFC field in the last two decades from the scientific mapping technique will guide existing and prospective researchers in the field going forward.

The effect of hydrogen on tensile behavior and fracture mechanisms of V-alloying and V-free high-nitrogen austenitic steels was evaluated. Two steels with the chemical compositions of Fe-23Cr–17Mn–0.1C–0.6N (0V-HNS) and Fe-19Cr–22Mn–1.5V–0.3C–0.9N (1.5V-HNS) were electrochemically hydrogen-charged in NaCl water-solution for 100 hours. According to X-ray diffraction analysis and TEM researches V-alloying promotes particle strengthening of the 1.5V-HNS. Despite differences in chemical compositions namely carbon and nitrogen concentrations a solid solution hardening is similar for both steels because of precipitate-assisted depletion of austenite by interstitial atoms (carbon and nitrogen) in 1.5V-HNS. For hydrogen-free state the values of the yield stress and the tensile strength are higher for particle-strengthened 1.5V-HNS as compared to 0V-HNS. Hydrogen-charging increases both the yield stress and the tensile strength of the steels but hydrogen-assisted fracture micromechanisms are different for 0V-HNS and 1.5V-HNS. Hydrogen-charging drastically reduces a total elongation in 0V-HNS but provides insufficient embrittlement in 1.5V-HNS. Hydrogen-assisted brittle layers form on lateral surfaces of the specimens and the widths and fracture micromechanisms in them are different for two steels. For 0V-HNS surface layers of 84 μm in width possess transgranular brittle fracture mechanism (quasi-cleavage mode). For 1.5V-HNS the brittle surface layers (31 μm width) destroy in intergranular brittle fracture mode. The central parts of steel specimens show dimple fracture similar to hydrogen-free steels. The possible reasons for different hydrogen-induced effects in 0V-HNS and 1.5V-HNS are discussed.

Presently there is a paradoxical situation in the global energy market related to a gap between the image of hydrocarbon resources (HCR) and their real value for the economy. On the one hand we face an increase in expected HCR production and consumption volumes both in the short and long term. On the other hand we see the formation of the image of HCR and associated technologies as an unacceptable option without enough attention to the differences in fuels and the ways of their usage. Due to this it seems necessary to take a step back to review the vitality of such a political line. This article highlights an alternative point of view with regard to energy development prospects. The purpose of this article is to analyse the consistency of criticism towards HCR based on exploration of scientific literature analytical documents of international corporations and energy companies as well as critical assessment of technologies offered for the HCR substitution. The analysis showed that: (1) it is impossible to substitute the majority of HCR with alternative power resources in the near term (2) it is essential that the criticism of energy companies with regard to their responsibility for climate change should lead not to destruction of the industry but to the search of sustainable means for its development (3) the strategic benchmarks of oil and coal industries should shift towards chemical production but their significance should not be downgraded for the energy sector (4) liquified natural gas (LNG) is an independent industry with the highest expansion potential in global markets in the coming years as compared to alternative energy options and (5) Russia possesses a huge potential for the development of the gas industry and particularly LNG that will be unlocked if timely measures on higher efficiency of the state regulation system are implemented.

The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of hydrogen-induced fracture of TiNi-based alloy. In this report we performed the first studies comparing inelastic properties and fracture of the specimens of the binary alloy of TiNi wire under the action of hydrogen with coarse-grained (CG) and ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure. It is shown that hydrogen embrittlement (HE) occurs irrespective of the grain size in the studied specimens at approximately equal strain values. However compared to the specimens with CG structure those with UFG structure accumulate two to three times more hydrogen for the same hydrogenation time. It is found that hydrogen has a much smaller effect on the inelastic properties of specimens with UFG structure as compared to those with CG structure.

Unstable hydrogen-air flame behavior randomities are important for industrial safety hydrogen infrastructure safety and nuclear power plant hydrogen safety problems. The paper is devoted to an experimental and theoretical study of the uncertainty in the acceleration of a premixed laminar unstable hydrogen flame. The results of experiments on spherical flame propagation in hydrogen-air mixtures with a hydrogen content of 10 to 60% are presented. The experiments were repeated up to 30 times in the same mixtures. A statistical analysis of the experimental results has been carried out. The scatter of the experimental data depending on the hydrogen content in the mixture was estimated. It was found to be between 8 to 17% for different mixtures with the same flame radius and mixture composition. Similar results were obtained using the numerical integration of the Sivashinsky equation of flame propagation.

There exists no single optimal way for transporting hydrogen and other hydrogen carriers from one port to the other globally. Its delivery depends on several factors such as the quantity distance economics and the availability of the required infrastructure for its transportation. Europe has a strategy to invest in the production of green hydrogen in Africa to meet its needs. This study assessed the economic viability of shipping liquefied hydrogen (LH2 ) and hydrogen carriers to Germany from six African countries that have been identified as countries with great potential in the production of hydrogen. The results obtained suggest that the shipping of LH2 to Europe (Germany) will cost between 0.47 and 1.55 USD/kg H2 depending on the distance of travel for the ship. Similarly the transportation of hydrogen carriers could range from 0.19 to 0.55 USD/kg H2 for ammonia 0.25 to 0.77 USD/kg H2 for LNG 0.24 to 0.73 USD/kg H2 for methanol and 0.43 to 1.28 USD/kg H2 for liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). Ammonia was found to be the ideal hydrogen carrier since it recorded the least transportation cost. A sensitivity analysis conducted indicates that an increase in the economic life by 5 years could averagely decrease the cost of LNG by some 13.9% NH3 by 13.2% methanol by 7.9% LOHC by 8.03% and LH2 by 12.41% under a constant distance of 6470 nautical miles. The study concludes with a suggestion that if both foreign and local participation in the development of the hydrogen market is increased in Africa the continent could supply LH2 and other hydrogen carriers to Europe at a cheaper price using clean fuel.

A promising method of energy storage is the combination of hydrogen and compressed-air energy storage (CAES) systems. CAES systems are divided into diabatic adiabatic and isothermal cycles. In the diabatic cycle thermal energy after air compression is discharged into the environment and the scheme implies the use of organic fuel. Taking into account the prospects of the decarbonization of the energy industry it is advisable to replace natural gas in the diabatic CAES scheme with hydrogen obtained by electrolysis using power-to-gas technology. In this article the SENECA-1A project is considered as a high-power hybrid unit using hydrogen instead of natural gas. The results show that while keeping the 214 MW turbines powered the transition to hydrogen reduces carbon dioxide emissions from 8.8 to 0.0 kg/s while the formation of water vapor will increase from 17.6 to 27.4 kg/s. It is shown that the adiabatic CAES SENECA-1A mode compared to the diabatic has 0.0 carbon dioxide and water vapor emission with relatively higher efficiency (71.5 vs. 62.1%). At the same time the main advantage of the diabatic CAES is the possibility to produce more power in the turbine block (214 vs. 131.6 MW) having fewer capital costs. Thus choosing the technology is a subject of complex technical economic and ecological study.

Hydrogen globally recognized as the most efficient and clean energy carrier holds the potential to transform future energy systems through its use as a fuel and chemical resource. Although progress has been made in reversible hydrogen adsorption and release challenges in storage continue to impede widespread adoption. This review explores recent advancements in hydrogen storage materials and synthesis methods emphasizing the role of nanotechnology and innovative synthesis techniques in enhancing storage performance and addressing these challenges to drive progress in the field. The review provides a comprehensive overview of various material classes including metal hydrides complex hydrides carbon materials metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and porous materials. Over 60 % of reviewed studies focused on metal hydrides and alloys for hydrogen storage. Additionally the impact of nanotechnology on storage performance and the importance of optimizing synthesis parameters to tailor material properties for specific applications are summarized. Various synthesis methods are evaluated with a special emphasis on the role of nanotechnology in improving storage performance. Mechanical milling emerges as a commonly used and cost-effective method for fabricating intermetallic hydrides capable of adjusting hydrogen storage properties. The review also explores hydrogen storage tank embrittlement mechanisms particularly subcritical crack growth and examines the advantages and limitations of different materials for various applications supported by case studies showcasing real-world implementations. The challenges underscore current limitations in hydrogen storage materials highlighting the need for improved storage capacity and kinetics. The review also explores prospects for developing materials with enhanced performance and safety providing a roadmap for ongoing advancements in the field. Key findings and directions for future research in hydrogen storage materials emphasize their critical role in shaping future energy systems.